Translation Policy Studies

Historical Review and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Globalization continues to drive up the demand for translation as an enabler of communication between peoples as well as between governments and citizens. Part of the response to such change is the rising profile of translation policy studies in academia. This paper first draws on the literature to trace the history of translation policy studies from the early years to the present. It then posits that the concept of translation policy—unlike that of language policy— has yet to be established in Japan, in both academia and public policy. This contention is supported by a review of the Japanese literature on topics related to translation policy coupled with an investigation into Japanese government publications. The paper concludes by summarizing the necessary steps to fill the research lacunae and suggesting some benefits of introducing this concept to Japan.